Stylocheilus
Encyclopedia
Stylocheilus is a genus
of sea slug
s, specifically sea hares, marine
opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family
Aplysiidae
, the sea hares.
According to some authors this genus belongs in the family Dolabriferidae.
A more general description can be found on the page of the superfamily
Aplysioidea.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of sea slug
Sea slug
Sea slug is a common name used for several different groups of saltwater snails that either lack a shell or have only an internal shell, in other words this name is used for various lineages of marine gastropod mollusks that are either not conchiferous or appear not to be.The phrase "sea slug" is...
s, specifically sea hares, marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
opisthobranch gastropod mollusks in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Aplysiidae
Aplysiidae
The superfamily Aplysioidea is a superfamily of mostly rather large sea slugs, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Aplysiomorpha within the informal group Opisthobranchia.This superfamily contains only one family, the Aplysiidae; the sea hares...
, the sea hares.
According to some authors this genus belongs in the family Dolabriferidae.
A more general description can be found on the page of the superfamily
Taxonomic rank
In biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
Aplysioidea.
Species
Species in the genus Stylocheilus include:- Stylocheilus longicauda QuoyJean René Constant QuoyJean René Constant Quoy was a French zoologist.Along with Joseph Paul Gaimard he served as naturalist aboard La Coquille under Louis Isidore Duperrey during its circumnavigation of the globe , and the Astrolabe under the command of Jules Dumont d'Urville...
& GaimardJoseph Paul GaimardJoseph Paul Gaimard was a French naval surgeon and naturalist.Along with Jean René Constant Quoy he served as naturalist on the ships L'Uranie under Louis de Freycinet 1817-1820, and L'Astrolabe under Jules Dumont d'Urville 1826-1829...
, 1824 : Blue-ring Sea Hare, Lemon Sea Hare (used to be called Stylocheilus citrina)- Distribution : circumtropical, Indo-West PacificIndo-PacificThe Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
. - Color : bright yellow or green with bluish eyespots, no lines.
- Description : This is one of the most specialized sea hares; elongate body with a long "tail" (as stated by its name longicauda), adapted for living on floating seaweed; feeds on Mermaid's Hair, blue-green algae of species Lynghya majuscula; at times, they are abundant, with several thousands crawling in the sand, traveling in chains ("snail trail") up to 10 mMetreThe metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...
long
- Distribution : circumtropical, Indo-West Pacific
- Stylocheilus striatus Quoy & Gaimard, 1832
- Distribution : circumtropical; intertidal, occurs up to 30 m depth
- Length : 65 mmMillimetreThe millimetre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousandth of a metre, which is the SI base unit of length....
- Color : brownish, with blue spots; lined species, with dark longitudinal lines (as stated by its name striatus) and small eyespots, providing excellent camouflageCamouflageCamouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
. - Description : Feeds on blue-green algae; gives off a purple ink when disturbed.
